‘Examine your conscience’ says Weir

Workers Party representative in North Belfast, Gemma Weir has condemned the shooting of a 26 year old man in the New Lodge area.

‘This is yet another barbaric and totally unjustifiable assault. It has neither cause nor justification’, she said

‘These so called ‘punishment‘ attacks and the consequences they have are in danger of becoming a sideline issue’, Gemma warned.

‘There is a real concern that this type of behaviour becomes accepted as the norm and that we fail to express sufficiently the outrage and condemnation which these actions deserve’, she said

‘In the past year there have been almost 100 shootings and beatings across Northern Ireland and a staggering 3,000 attacks since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998’ explained Gemma.

‘These are brutal, life changing and sometime fatal attacks’, she said. ‘They cannot be carried out without the support and help of a number of people in the local community’.

‘While we must continue to call on those directly involved to desist immediately we must also say to those who support them, in whatever way, ‘Examine your conscience and reflect on the role you have played in these brutal maimings and murders’

‘The police, the courts and the judicial system are the only legitimate source of redress’ said Gemma

‘Anyone with any information about this or any other attack should contact the PSNI’, Gemma concluded.